11 Plus Grammar and Punctuation Questions

The national curriculum gives parents a useful map of grammar and punctuation taught in English primary schools. It does not define one syllabus for every 11+ test: areas, providers and question formats differ. If your child is sitting a GL Assessment paper, GL says English tests are based mainly on curriculum content reached during the early part of Year 6, but each local authority or school decides which subjects and question types to use.

This guide uses the government's Key Stage 2 grammar, punctuation and spelling (GPS) test framework as a teaching reference. It turns its content areas into practice questions and explains the intended answers. The year-group table in the national curriculum can also help you ask whether a topic may be new to your child. Neither document is an 11+ specification, and the year a concept is introduced does not guarantee when a particular school teaches or tests it.

One caution before we start: the official framework quoted here governs the Key Stage 2 SATs GPS test, not the 11+. The national curriculum applies to maintained schools in England, while 11+ tests are set locally and can assess different content. Use this page to practise curriculum grammar and punctuation, then check the test provider or admissions authority for your child's actual format and coverage.

First, which "11 plus grammar" did you mean?

The phrase can mean two different things. Some parents want information about grammar schools: entry rules, catchment areas, qualifying scores or application deadlines. Others want help with grammar as a school subject: nouns, clauses, apostrophes and semi-colons.

If you came for admissions, our parent guide to what the 11+ is covers school types, test dates and how scores are used, and it is the better starting point. If you came for the English subject, stay here. Everything below is about the technical English content of the paper.

What technical English actually covers

GL Assessment says 11+ tests can cover English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, and that local authorities or schools choose subjects and question types. It says its English tests are based mainly around curriculum content reached during the early part of Year 6 (GL Assessment FAQs). This describes GL's English tests; it is not a universal 11+ syllabus.

The national curriculum's English Appendix 2 sets out vocabulary, grammar and punctuation for Years 1 to 6. For the KS2 GPS test, the Standards and Testing Agency organises assessed content into seven areas (KS2 English GPS test framework):

• G1 Grammatical terms and word classes
• G2 Functions of sentences
• G3 Combining words, phrases and clauses
• G4 Verb forms, tense and consistency
• G5 Punctuation, split into fourteen named subdomains from G5.1 capital letters through to G5.14 bullet points
• G6 Vocabulary
• G7 Standard English and formality

These seven areas describe the KS2 GPS framework. They are a structured source for practice, not a complete 11+ revision list. Check local test guidance before deciding which areas to prioritise.

The KS2 framework also says grammatical terms not required as pupil terminology may appear in question wording, but pupils are not expected to produce those terms in their responses. That statement applies to the KS2 test. In a multiple-choice question, a pupil may need to recognise a grammatical pattern without naming it; other 11+ formats may ask for a different response.

Has your child been taught it yet? The year-by-year gap check

Appendix 2 says its year-group table "shows when concepts should be introduced first, not necessarily when they should be completely understood", and adds that "it is very important, therefore, that the content in earlier years be revisited in subsequent years to consolidate knowledge" (English Appendix 2).

Appendix 2 says the table shows when concepts should first be introduced, not when pupils should have mastered them, and that earlier content should be revisited. A September Year 6 test may come before some Year 6 topics have been taught, but timing varies by school and test. The curriculum introduces these topics in the following year groups:

• Year 2: sentence functions (statement, question, exclamation, command), commas in lists, apostrophes for contraction and singular possession
• Year 3: clauses and subordinate clauses, direct speech, inverted commas
• Year 4: commas after fronted adverbials, inverted commas plus other punctuation for direct speech, apostrophes for plural possession and the difference between plural and possessive -s, Standard English verb inflections
• Year 5: relative clauses (who, which, where, when, whose, that, or an omitted relative pronoun), modal verbs and adverbs of possibility, brackets, dashes or commas for parenthesis, commas to clarify meaning or avoid ambiguity
• Year 6: active and passive voice, subjunctive forms, semi-colons, colons and dashes between independent clauses, colons introducing lists, semi-colons within lists, bullet points, hyphens to avoid ambiguity

Use the list to start a conversation with your child's teacher about what has been taught. An error can mean a rule needs revisiting, but the year label alone cannot show whether a child has been taught or practised it. Check your local test information before assuming that any particular topic appears in the 11+ paper.

G1: word classes

Word-class questions ask you to spot the job a word is doing, not what it looks like. You can practise nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and determiners, then check which question types your local test uses.

Question 1. In the sentence Those cyclists rode carefully along the narrow towpath, which word is a determiner?

• A: Those
• B: carefully
• C: along
• D: narrow

Answer: A. Those introduces the noun cyclists. Carefully is an adverb describing how the cyclists rode. Along is a preposition introducing along the narrow towpath. Narrow is an adjective describing the towpath.

G2 and G3: sentence functions, clauses and relative clauses

G2 covers the four sentence functions. G3 covers how clauses join: co-ordination, subordination and relative clauses. Appendix 2 introduces relative clauses in Year 5, including ones with an omitted relative pronoun.

Question 2. Which sentence contains a relative clause?

• A: Because the tide was rising, we turned back.
• B: The bench that overlooks the harbour needs repainting.
• C: We packed the tent and walked to the ridge.
• D: Turn left at the postbox.

Answer: B. That overlooks the harbour modifies the bench. A relative clause gives more information about a noun. In A, Because the tide was rising is a subordinate clause giving a reason. C joins actions with and. D is a command.

Try building a sentence from a main clause and a subordinate clause.

G4: verb forms, tense and consistency

The content domain itemises simple past and present (G4.1a), the perfect form (G4.1b), modal verbs (G4.1c), the progressive form (G4.1d), tense consistency (G4.2), the subjunctive (G4.3) and active and passive (G4.4). When checking tense consistency, read the whole passage: a change of tense can be appropriate if the time being described changes.

Question 3. Which sentence uses the perfect form?

• A: She was walking to the library.
• B: She walked to the library.
• C: She has walked to the library.
• D: She will walk to the library.

Answer: C. Has walked is the present perfect. It uses has with the past participle walked. A is past progressive (was walking), B is simple past (walked), and D refers to the future using will.

Passive, modal and subjunctive forms

The passive describes an event from the receiver of the action. Modal verbs can express possibility, ability or obligation. Subjunctive forms can express hypothetical situations, such as If I were. Teaching order varies by school. Appendix 2's own passive example is I broke the window in the greenhouse versus The window in the greenhouse was broken (by me). Its subjunctive examples are If I were and Were they to come, described as belonging to some very formal writing and speech. Modal verbs (might, should, will, must) arrive a year earlier, in Year 5, alongside adverbs of possibility such as perhaps and surely.

Question 4. Which sentence is written in the passive voice?

• A: The storm damaged the pier last winter.
• B: The pier was damaged by the storm last winter.
• C: The pier was old and unsafe last winter.
• D: The storm was damaging the pier all night.

Answer: B. The subject receives the action. In C, old and unsafe describe the pier; this is not a passive construction. D is active past progressive: the storm is doing the damaging. A is the active version of B.

G7: Standard English and formality

The KS2 GPS framework gives examples of Standard English contrasts. G7.1 names verb forms such as I did / I done, we were / was, he was / were and isn't / ain't, pronoun choices such as them / those, that / what and anything / nothing, and adverb forms such as run quickly / quick. Year 4 curriculum examples include we were rather than we was and I did rather than I done.

Question 5. Which sentence is written in Standard English?

• A: We was late because I done my homework first.
• B: We were late because I done my homework first.
• C: We were late because I did my homework first.
• D: We was late because I did my homework first.

Answer: C. The Standard English forms here are we were and I did. B uses only the first of these, D uses only the second, and A uses neither.

Apostrophes: contraction, singular possession, plural possession

Several apostrophe rules can be tested together. Contractions and singular possession appear in the Year 2 curriculum. Plural possession appears in Year 4, with examples such as the girl's name and the girls' names.

Question 6. Which sentence uses apostrophes correctly?

• A: The teacher's marked all the boys's essays.
• B: The teachers marked all the boys' essays.
• C: The teachers' marked all the boys essays.
• D: The teachers marked all the boy's essay's.

Answer: B. Teachers is a plural subject, so it takes no apostrophe; boys' is a plural possessive. In A, teacher's could mean teacher has, so that wording would make the sentence grammatical if the possessive were also correct. The deliberately incorrect boys's makes A unambiguously wrong. C puts an apostrophe in the plural subject and omits the possessive apostrophe from boys'. In D, boy's can correctly mean belonging to one boy, but essay's incorrectly uses an apostrophe for the plural essays.

Try an apostrophe question now: contraction or possession?

Commas: lists, fronted adverbials, parenthesis and ambiguity

Commas appear across several G5 subdomains. Lists are Year 2, fronted adverbials Year 4, and Year 5 adds two harder jobs: commas (or brackets or dashes) to indicate parenthesis, and commas to clarify meaning or avoid ambiguity.

Question 7. Which sentence uses commas to mark parenthesis?

• A: We packed sandwiches, apples, a flask and a map.
• B: After the second bell, the hall fell silent.
• C: Mr Okafor, who had taught there for thirty years, unlocked the gate.
• D: Priya said, "The gate is open!"

Answer: C. A pair of commas brackets off information that could be removed. A separates items in a list. B separates a fronted adverbial from the main clause. D separates the reporting clause from direct speech.

Try moving the commas and see how the meaning changes.

Speech punctuation and the advanced marks

Inverted commas arrive in Year 3, and Year 4 adds inverted commas "and other punctuation to indicate direct speech". Appendix 2 gives The conductor shouted, "Sit down!" as its example, which encodes two rules at once: a comma after the reporting clause, and end punctuation kept inside the inverted commas.

The remaining marks are Year 6: semi-colon, colon and dash between independent clauses (It's raining; I'm fed up), colons introducing lists, semi-colons within lists, bullet points, and hyphens to avoid ambiguity (man eating shark versus man-eating shark, or recover versus re-cover).

Question 8. Which sentence is punctuated correctly?

• A: "Wait here" said Priya, "I'll fetch the key".
• B: "Wait here," said Priya. "I'll fetch the key."
• C: "Wait here, said Priya, I'll fetch the key."
• D: "Wait here." said Priya "I'll fetch the key."

Answer: B. A drops the comma before the closing inverted comma and strands the full stop outside. C encloses the reporting clause inside the speech. D uses a full stop where a comma belongs and omits punctuation after the reporting clause.

So which practice actually helps: workbook, worksheet or exam-format paper?

This is the real decision, and the honest answer is that all three have a job but not the same job.

Choose a topic workbook when there is a knowledge gap. If your child cannot explain what a relative clause is, more multiple-choice practice alone may not teach the rule. Workbooks and school-style exercises can help build understanding. Use the year-by-year list above as a starting point, and check what has been taught.

Use printable worksheets for short practice. Their format may differ from the test your child will sit. Some 11+ tests use multiple-choice questions; others do not. Check the local guidance and include practice in the relevant format.

Practise the format your child will sit. GL provides familiarisation materials for its tests, and Warwickshire's West Midlands entrance tests are multiple choice, with two tests of about 60 minutes each; scores are standardised and weighted (Warwickshire County Council). These are examples of specific providers and areas, not a description of every 11+ exam. Our timed paper practice can help when it matches your child's test; our 11+ maths guide covers numerical question types.

Choose practice based on the gap you have identified and the format of the local test.

Make a short grammar practice set

You do not need to buy anything to make a good worksheet, and a homemade one has an advantage: it targets your child's actual gaps. Take a sheet of paper and write eight questions using the templates above, across several content areas:

1. Identify the word class of a named word in a sentence
2. Choose which sentence contains a relative clause
3. Choose the sentence with consistent tense
4. Choose the passive sentence
5. Choose the Standard English sentence
6. Choose the correct apostrophe use
7. Choose the sentence using commas for parenthesis
8. Choose the correctly punctuated direct speech

Give each four options, and write the three wrong ones deliberately: one that is nearly right, one that tests a neighbouring rule, and one that is right in form but wrong in job (an adjective for a determiner, a past progressive for a passive). Check every option in its whole sentence and make sure there is only one intended answer. Revise any wording that allows another reasonable answer. Then print it, or simply write it out.

Marking is where the value is. Do not just score it. For each wrong answer, ask your child to explain their choice. The rule may be new, a familiar rule may have been misapplied, or an option may have seemed plausible; the chosen letter alone cannot tell you why. The first case may need teaching before more testing; the third may improve with practice in the test format. Log the pattern over a few weeks so you can track topics as well as scores.

For comprehension and writing, see our 11+ English overview. The national curriculum covers spelling in English Appendix 1; check your test provider or admissions authority to find out whether and how spelling is assessed in your area.

The national curriculum and KS2 GPS framework provide a published map for grammar and punctuation practice. They do not make the 11+ content identical across areas. Check your local test information, then use the examples here to practise relevant rules and discuss any gaps with your child's teacher.